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The United States is the third most populous country in the world with an estimated population of 328,953,020 as of November 8, 2018[update].[1][3] It is highly urbanized, with 82.3% of the population residing in cities and suburbs.[2] Large urban clusters are spread throughout the eastern half of the United States (particularly the Great Lakes area, northeast, east, and southeast) and the western tier states; mountainous areas, principally the Rocky Mountains and Appalachian chain, deserts in the southwest, the dense boreal forests in the extreme north, and the central prairie states are less densely populated; Alaska's population is concentrated along its southern coast - with particular emphasis on the city of Anchorage - and Hawaii's is centered on the island of Oahu.[2]California and Texas are the most populous states, as the mean center of U.S. population has consistently shifted westward and southward.[4][5]New York City is the most populous city in the United States.[6]

The American population almost quadrupled during the 20th century--at a growth rate of about 1.3% a year--from about 76 million in 1900 to 281 million in 2000. It is estimated to have reached the 200 million mark in 1967, and the 300 million mark on October 17, 2006.[10][11] Population growth is fastest among minorities as a whole, and according to the Census Bureau's estimation for 2012, 50.4% of American children under the age of 1 belonged to racial and ethnic minority groups.[12]

White people constitute the majority of the U.S. population, with a total of about 245,532,000 or 77.7% of the population as of 2013[update]. Non-Hispanic whites make up 62.6% of the country's population. The non-Hispanic white population of the US is expected to fall below 50% by 2045.[13] According to Pew Research Center study released in 2018, by 2040, Islam will surpass Judaism to become the second largest religion in the US due to higher immigration and birth rates.[14]

Hispanic and Latino Americans accounted for 48% of the national population growth of 2.9 million between July 1, 2005, and July 1, 2006.[15] Immigrants and their U.S.-born descendants are expected to provide most of the U.S. population gains in the decades ahead.[16]

The Census Bureau projects a U.S. population of 417 million in 2060, a 38% increase from 2007 (301.3 million),[17] and the United Nations estimates the U.S. population will be 402 million in 2050, an increase of 32% from 2007.[18] In an official census report, it was reported that 54.4% (2,150,926 out of 3,953,593) of births in 2010 were non-Hispanic white. This represents an increase of 0.3% compared to the previous year, which was 54.1%.[19]

Population

As of November 8, 2018, the United States is estimated to have a population of 328,953,020.

Density

Growth

Population growth rate: 0.81%

Immigration and emigration

Net migration rate: 3.9 migrants/1,000 population

13% of the population was foreign-born in 2009 - a rise of 350% since 1970 when foreign-born people accounted for 3.7% of the population,[20] including 11.2 million illegal immigrants,[21] 80% of whom come from Latin America.[22] Latin America is the largest region-of-birth group, accounting for over half (53%) of all foreign born population in US,[23] and thus is also the largest source of both legal and illegal immigration to US.[24] In 2011, there are 18.1 million naturalized citizens in the United States, accounting for 45% of the foreign-born population (40.4 million) and 6% of the total US population at the time,[25] and around 680,000 legal immigrants are naturalized annually.[26]

3.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population, estimated in 2017. Country comparison to the world: 29th. 4.32 people migrate per 1,000 population, estimated in 2010.[]

Inflow of New Legal Permanent Residents, Top Five Sending Countries, 2011[27]

Note: Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.[28][9] Also note that growth arrows indicate an increase or decrease in the number of births, not in the fertility rate.

Historical data

In 1900, when the U.S. population was 76 million, there were 66.8 million Whites in the United States, representing 88% of the total population,[33] 8.8 million Black Americans, with about 90% of them still living in Southern states,[34] and slightly more than 500,000 Hispanics.[35]

Under the law, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965,[36] the number of first-generation immigrants living in the United States has increased,[37] from 9.6 million in 1970 to about 38 million in 2007.[38] Around a million people legally immigrated to the United States per year in the 1990s, up from 250,000 per year in the 1950s.[39] In 2009, 37% of immigrants originated in Asia, 42% in North America, and 11% in Africa.[40]

In 1900, non-Hispanic whites comprised almost 97% of the population of the 10 largest American cities.[41] The Census Bureau reported that minorities (including Hispanic whites) made up 50.4% of the children born in the U.S. between July 2010 and July 2011,[42] compared to 37% in 1990.[43]

In 2010 the state with the lowest fertility rate was Rhode Island, with a rate of 1.63, while Utah had the greatest rate with a rate of 2.45.[19] This correlates with the ages of the states' populations: Rhode Island has the ninth-oldest median age in the US--39.2--while Utah has the youngest--29.0.[44]

Race and ethnicity

Race

The United States Census Bureau collects racial data in accordance with guidelines provided by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and these data are based on self-identification. The racial classifications and definitions used by the U.S. Census Bureau are:[62]

White: a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "White" or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Arab, Moroccan, or Caucasian.

Black or African American: a person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am., or Negro" or report entries such as African American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.

American Indian or Alaska Native: a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment. This category includes people who indicate their race as "American Indian or Alaska Native" or report entries such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup'ik, Central American Indian groups, or South American Indian groups.

Asian: a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Some other race: includes all other responses not included in the "White," "Black or African American," "American Indian or Alaska Native," "Asian," and "Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander" racial categories described above.

Two or more races: people may choose to provide two or more races either by checking two or more race response check boxes, providing multiple responses, or some combination of check boxes and other responses.

Data about race and ethnicity are self-reported to the Census Bureau. Since the 2000 census, Congress has authorized people to identify themselves according to more than one racial classification by selecting more than one category. Only one ethnicity may be selected, however, because the U.S. Census recognizes only two ethnicities--Hispanic and Non-Hispanic--which are mutually exclusive since you can be one or the other, but not both. The Census Bureau defines "Hispanic" as any person who has an ancestral connection to Latin America.

Hispanic or Latino origin

CensusViewer US 2010 Census Latino Population as a heatmap by census tract.

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines "Hispanic or Latino" as a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. People who identify with the terms "Hispanic" or "Latino" are those who classify themselves in one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the decennial census questionnaire and various Census Bureau survey questionnaires - "Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano" or "Puerto Rican" or "Cuban" - as well as those who indicate that they are "another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin."[64] People who identify their origin as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.[62]

The 2000 U.S. Census counted same-sex couples in an oblique way; asking the sex and the relationship to the "main householder", whose sex was also asked. One organization[which?] specializing in analyzing gay demographic data reported, based on this count in the 2000 census and in the 2000 supplementary survey, that same-sex couples comprised between 0.99% and 1.13% of U.S. couples in 2000.[69] A 2006 report issued by The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation concluded that the number of same-sex couples in the U.S. grew from 2000 to 2005, from nearly 600,000 couples in 2000 to almost 777,000 in 2005. A 2006 UCLA study reported that 4.1% of Americans aged 18-45 identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.[70]

A 2011 report by the Institute estimated that 4 million adults identify as gay or lesbian, representing 1.7% of the population over 18. A spokesperson said that, until recently, few studies have tried to eliminate people who had occasionally undertaken homosexual behavior or entertained homosexual thoughts, from people who identified as lesbian or gay.[71] (Older estimates have varied depending on methodology and timing; see Demographics of sexual orientation for a list of studies.) The American Community Survey from the 2000 U.S. Census estimated 776,943 same-sex couple households in the country as a whole, representing about 0.5% of the population.[70]

A report by the U.S. Census Bureau projects a decrease in the ratio of Whites between 2010 and 2050, from 79.5% to 74.0%.[73] At the same time, Non-Hispanic Whites are projected to no longer make up a majority of the population by 2042, but will remain the largest single ethnic group. In 2050 they will compose 46.3% of the population. Non-Hispanic whites made up 85% of the population in 1960.[74]

The report foresees the Hispanic or Latino population rising from 16% today to 30% by 2050, the Black percentage barely rising from 12.9% to 13.1%, and Asian Americans upping their 4.6% share to 7.8%. The United States had a population of 310 million people in October 2010, and is projected to reach 400 million by 2039 and 439 million in 2050.[17][75][76][77] It is further projected that 82% of the increase in population from 2005 to 2050 will be due to immigrants and their children.[78]

Of the nation's children in 2050, 62% are expected to be of a minority ethnicity, up from 44% today. Approximately 39% are projected to be Hispanic or Latino (up from 22% in 2008), and 38% are projected to be single-race, non-Hispanic Whites (down from 56% in 2008).[79] Racial and ethnic minorities surpassed non-Hispanic whites as the largest group of American children under 5 years old in 2015.[80]

The country's racial profile will be vastly different, and although whites will remain the single largest racial group in the US, they will no longer be a majority by 2055 according to Pew Research Center. Growth in the Hispanic and Asian populations is predicted to almost triple over the next 40 years. By 2055, the breakdown is estimated to be 48% White, 24% Hispanic, 14% Asian, and 13% Black.[82]

As of 2015[update], 14% of the United States' population is foreign born, compared to just 5% in 1965. Nearly 39 million immigrants have come to the US since 1965, with most coming from Asia and Latin America. The 2015 Census Report predicts that the percentage of the US population that is foreign born will continue to increase, reaching 19% by 2060. This increase in the foreign-born population will account for a large share of the overall population growth.[82]

The average US citizen of 2060 is likely to be older than the average citizen of today, and almost one in four people will be 65 or older.[82]

U.S. Census Census Bureau projections

Percent minority 1970-2042 (2008 projections)

Note: "Minority" refers to people who reported their ethnicity and race as something other than non-Hispanic White alone in the decennial census.

In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau projected the future censuses as follows:[17]

Year

Projection

Actual result

2010

310,232,863

308,745,538

2020

325,896,000

2030

350,471,000

2040

380,015,000

2050

389,803,000

Religion

This article needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(June 2014)

Religious affiliations in 2004

Major religions by overall percentage (2007).

The table below is based mainly on selected data as reported to the United States Census Bureau. It only includes the voluntary self-reported membership of religious bodies with 750,000 or more. The definition of a member is determined by each religious body.[83] In 2004[update], the US census bureau reported that about 13% of the population did not identify themselves as a member of any religion.[84][clarification needed]

In a Pew Research Survey performed in 2012, Americans without a religion (atheists, agnostics, nothing in particular, etc.) approached the numbers of Evangelical Protestant Americans with almost 20% of Americans being nonreligious (compared to just over 26% being Evangelical Protestant). If this current growth rate continues, by 2050, around 51% of Americans will not have a religion.[85]

A survey conducted in 2014 by the same organization indicated that the percentage of Americans unaffiliated with a religion rose to nearly 23% of the population, up from 16% in 2007.[86]

Adult respondents were asked the open-ended question, "What is your religion, if any?". Interviewers did not prompt or offer a suggested list of potential answers. The religion of the spouse or partner was also asked. If the initial answer was "Protestant" or "Christian" further questions were asked to probe which particular denomination. About one-third of the sample was asked more detailed demographic questions.

Religious Self-Identification of the U.S. Adult Population: 1990, 2001, 2008[93]Figures are not adjusted for refusals to reply; investigators suspect refusals are possibly more representative of "no religion" than any other group.

Income

In 2006, the median household income in the United States was around $46,326. Household and personal income depends on variables such as race, number of income earners, educational attainment and marital status.

Economic class

Social classes in the United States lack distinct boundaries and may overlap. Even their existence (when distinguished from economic strata) is controversial. The following table provides a summary of some prominent academic theories on the stratification of American society:

1 The upper middle class may also be referred to as "Professional class" Ehrenreich, B. (1989). The Inner Life of the Middle Class. NY, NY: Harper-Collins.

Generational cohorts

A study by William Strauss and Neil Howe, in their books Generations and Fourth Turning, looked at generational similarities and differences going back to the 15th century and concluded that over 80-year spans, generations proceed through four stages of about 20 years each.

A definitive recent study of US generational cohorts was done by Schuman and Scott (2012) in which a broad sample of adults of all ages was asked, "What world events are especially important to you?"[94] They found that 33 events were mentioned with great frequency. When the ages of the respondents were correlated with the expressed importance rankings, seven (some put 8 or 9) distinct cohorts became evident.

Today the following descriptors are frequently used for these cohorts:

Baby Boomers - There are no precise dates for when this cohort starts or ends; demographers and researchers typically use starting birth years ranging from the early-to-mid 1940s and ending birth years ranging from 1960 to 1964.

Generation X - demographers and researchers typically use birth years ranging from the early-to-mid 1960s to the early 1980s.[97]

In the U.S., some called Generation Xers the "baby bust" generation because of the drop in the birth rate following the baby boom.[98] The drop in fertility rates in America began in the late 1950s. But according to authors and demographers William Strauss and Neil Howe (who use 1961 to 1981 for Gen X birth years), there are approximately 88.5 million Gen Xers in the U.S. today.[99][100]

Millennials (also known as Generation Y) - demographers and researchers typically use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s as ending birth years.

Generation Z (also known as Homelanders or Digital Natives) - demographers and researchers typically use starting birth years that range from the mid-1990s to mid-2000s, and as of yet there is little consensus about ending birth years.

U.S. demographic birth cohorts

Birth rate has dropped since 1957.

Subdivided groups are present when peak boom years or inverted peak bust years are present, and may be represented by a normal or inverted bell-shaped curve (rather than a straight curve). The boom subdivided cohorts may be considered as "pre-peak" (including peak year) and "post-peak". The year 1957 was the baby boom peak with 4.3 million births and 122.7 fertility rate. Although post-peak births (such as trailing edge boomers) are in decline, and sometimes referred to as a "bust", there are still a relatively large number of births. The dearth-in-birth bust cohorts include those up to the valley birth year, and those including and beyond, leading up to the subsequent normal birth rate. The baby boom began around 1943 to 1946.[]

From the decline in U.S. birth rates starting in 1958 and the introduction of the birth control pill in 1960, the Baby Boomer normal distribution curve is negatively skewed. The trend in birth rates from 1958 to 1961 show a tendency to end late in the decade at approximately 1969, thus returning to pre-WWII levels, with 12 years of rising and 12 years of declining birth rates. Pre-war birth rates were defined as anywhere between 1939 and 1941 by demographers such as the Taeuber's, Philip M. Hauser and William Fielding Ogburn.[101]

Demographic statistics

Birth, growth and death rates

The birth rate is 12.5 births/1,000 population, estimated as of 2017[update] and 2013. Country comparison to the world: 158th. This was the lowest since records began. There were 3,957,577 births in 2013.[102]

13.9 births/1,000 population per year (provisional data for 2008)

14.3 births/1,000 population per year (provisional data for 2007)[103]

In 2009, Time magazine reported that 40% of births were to unmarried women.[104] The following is a breakdown by race for unwed births: 17% Asian, 29% White, 53% Hispanics, 66% Native Americans, and 72% Black American.[105]

The drop in the birth rate from 2007 to 2009 is believed to be associated with the Great Recession.[106]

Per U.S. federal government data released in March 2011, births fell 4% from 2007 to 2009, the largest drop in the U.S. for any two-year period since the 1970s.[108]
Births have declined for three consecutive years, and are now 7% below the peak in 2007.[109] This drop has continued through 2010, according to data released by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics in June 2011.[110] Numerous experts have suggested that this decline is largely a reflection of unfavorable economic conditions.[111] This connection between birth rates and economic downturns partly stems from the fact that American birth rates have now fallen to levels that are comparable to the Great Depression of the 1930s.[112] Teen birth rates in the U.S. are at the lowest level in U.S. history.[113] In fact, teen birth rates in the U.S. have consistently decreased since 1991 through 2011, except for a brief increase between 2005 and 2007.[113] The other aberration from this otherwise steady decline in teen birth rates is the 6% decrease in birth rates for 15- to 19-year-olds between 2008 and 2009.[113] Despite these years of decrease, U.S. teen birth rates are still higher than in other developed nations.[113] Racial differences prevail with teen birth and pregnancy rates as well. The American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic black teen pregnancy rates are more than double the non-Hispanic white teen birth rate.[114]

Age group

Total (of population)

White alone (of race/age group)

Black alone (of race/age group)

Mixed and/or Some Other Race(of race/age group)

Asian alone (of race/age group)

Either American Indian or Alaska Native (of race/age group)

Either Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (of race/age group)

Total

(100%)

(72.41%)

(12.61%)

(9.11%)

(4.75%)

(0.95%)

(0.17%)

0-4

(6.5%)

(5.7%/63.34%)

(7.5%/14.37%)

(11.8%/16.41%)

(6.1%/4.45%)

(8.3%/1.21%)

(8.3%/0.22%)

5-9

(6.6%)

(5.9%/65.33%)

(7.4%/14.17%)

(10.5%/14.53%)

(6.3%/4.56%)

(8.3%/1.20%)

(8.0%/0.21%)

10-14

(6.7%)

(6.1%/66.44%)

(7.8%/14.67%)

(9.7%/13.23%)

(6.0%/4.26%)

(8.4%/1.19%)

(7.8%/0.20%)

15-19

(7.1%)

(6.5%/66.35%)

(8.9%/15.64%)

(9.6%/12.27%)

(6.5%/4.34%)

(9.0%/1.20%)

(8.7%/0.21%)

20-24

(7.0%)

(6.5%/67.34%)

(8.0%/14.41%)

(9.0%/11.76%)

(7.5%/5.12%)

(8.2%/1.12%)

(9.8%/0.24%)

25-29

(6.8%)

(6.4%/67.98%)

(7.2%/13.20%)

(8.8%/11.68%)

(8.4%/5.85%)

(7.6%/1.05%)

(9.2%/0.24%)

30-34

(6.5%)

(6.1%/68.00%)

(6.8%/13.16%)

(8.1%/11.39%)

(8.5%/6.22%)

(6.9%/1.02%)

(8.1%/0.22%)

35-39

(6.5%)

(6.3%/69.36%)

(6.7%/12.95%)

(7.2%/10.10%)

(8.8%/6.42%)

(6.7%/0.97%)

(7.2%/0.19%)

40-44

(6.8%)

(6.7%/72.05%)

(6.9%/12.78%)

(6.3%/8.53%)

(7.9%/5.53%)

(6.6%/0.93%)

(6.7%/0.17%)

45-49

(7.4%)

(7.6%/74.99%)

(7.3%/12,46%)

(5.4%/6.75%)

(7.3%/4.74%)

(7.1%/0.92%)

(6.6%/0.16%)

50-54

(7.2%)

(7.7%/77.04%)

(6.9%/12.08%)

(4.3%/5.48%)

(6.7%/4.40%)

(6.5%/0.86%)

(5.7%/0.14%)

55-59

(6.4%)

(7.0%/79.14%)

(5.7%/11.22%)

(3.1%/4.44%)

(5.8%/4.29%)

(5.3%/0.78%)

(4.5%/0.12%)

60-64

(5.4%)

(6.1%/81.42%)

(4.3%/10.03%)

(2.2%/3.63%)

(4.7%/4.10%)

(4.0%/0.70%)

(3.5%/0.11%)

65-69

(4.0%)

(4.6%/82.93%)

(3.0%/9.35%)

(1.4%/3.17%)

(3.2%/3.81%)

(2.7%/0.64%)

(2.2%/0.10%)

70-74

(3.0%)

(3.5%/83.43%)

(2.2%/9.19%)

(1.0%/2.89%)

(2.4%/3.82%)

(1.8%/0.58%)

(1.5%/0.09%)

75-79

(2.4%)

(2.8%/85.06%)

(1.6%/8.43%)

(0.7%/2.52%)

(1.7%/3.43%)

(1.2%/0.48%)

(1.0%/0.07%)

80-84

(1.9%)

(2.2%/87.10%)

(1.1%/7.39%)

(0.4%/2.13%)

(1.2%/2.94%)

(0.7%/0.38%)

(0.6%/0.06%)

85+

(1.8%)

(2.2%/88.44%)

(1.0%/6.96%)

(0.3%/1.74%)

(0.9%/2.51%)

(0.6%/0.31%)

(0.4%/0.04%)

U.S. unemployment by state in December 2015 (official, or U3 rate).[115]

<3.0%

<3.5%

<4.0%

<4.5%

<5.0%

<5.5%

<6.0%

<6.5%

>=6.5%

Unemployment rate

As of July 2017[update], the U.S. unemployment rate was 4.3 percent (U3 rate).[116]

As of July 2016[update], the U.S. unemployment rate was 4.9 percent (U3 rate).[116]

As of July 2015[update], the U.S. unemployment rate was 5.3 percent (U3 rate).[117]

As of July 2014[update], the U.S. unemployment rate was 6.2 percent (U3 rate).[116]

The U6 unemployment rate as of April 2017[update] was 8.6 percent.[118] The U6 unemployment rate counts not only people without work seeking full-time employment (the more familiar U3 rate), but also counts "marginally attached workers and those working part-time for economic reasons." Note that some of these part-time workers counted as employed by U3 could be working as little as an hour a week. And the "marginally attached workers" include those who have gotten discouraged and stopped looking, but still want to work. The age considered for this calculation is 16 years and over.[119]

Mobility

In 2013, about 15% of Americans moved.[] Most of these, 67%, moved within the same county. Of the 33% who moved beyond local county boundaries, 13% of those moved more than 200 miles (320 km).[120]